Department of Applied Nano Mechanics, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, 156 Gajeongbuk-ro, Daejeon 34103, Korea.
Department of Control and Instrumentation Engineering, Korea University, 2511 Sejong-ro, Sejong 30019, Korea.
Biomolecules. 2021 Jan 20;11(2):132. doi: 10.3390/biom11020132.
Thermal interface materials (TIMs), typically composed of a polymer matrix with good wetting properties and thermally conductive fillers, are applied to the interfaces of mating components to reduce the interfacial thermal resistance. As a filler material, silver has been extensively studied because of its high intrinsic thermal conductivity. However, the high cost of silver and its toxicity has hindered the wide application of silver-based TIMs. Copper is an earth-abundant element and essential micronutrient for humans. In this paper, we present a copper-based multi-dimensional filler composed of three-dimensional microscale copper flakes, one-dimensional multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and zero-dimensional copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) to create a safe and low-cost TIM with a high thermal conductivity. Cu NPs synthesized by microwave irradiation of a precursor solution were bound to MWCNTs and mixed with copper flakes and polyimide matrix to obtain a TIM paste, which was stable even in a high-temperature environment. The cross-plane thermal conductivity of the copper-based TIM was 36 W/m/K. Owing to its high thermal conductivity and low cost, the copper-based TIM could be an industrially useful heat-dissipating material in the future.
热界面材料（TIMs）通常由具有良好润湿性和导热性的聚合物基体和导热填料组成，应用于配合部件的界面之间，以降低界面热阻。银由于其高固有热导率而被广泛研究作为填料材料。然而，银的高成本和毒性阻碍了基于银的 TIMs 的广泛应用。铜是一种丰富的元素，也是人类必需的微量元素。在本文中，我们提出了一种由三维微尺度铜片、一维多壁碳纳米管（MWCNTs）和零维铜纳米颗粒（Cu NPs）组成的基于铜的多维填料，以创造一种安全且低成本的具有高热导率的 TIM。通过前驱体溶液的微波辐照合成的 Cu NPs 与 MWCNTs 结合，并与铜片和聚酰亚胺基体混合，得到 TIM 糊剂，即使在高温环境下也保持稳定。铜基 TIM 的面内热导率为 36 W/m/K。由于其高热导率和低成本，铜基 TIM 有望成为未来工业上有用的散热材料。
